To Save a Life
by FoxyG
Summary: Rorschach and Nite Owl find a life to save amongst the putrid and sinful streets of New York. Pre-Roche, one-shot.


_A/N: Bits and pieces of other fanfics formed this plot bunny. I liked the idea of Rorschach picking babies out of dumpsters, and figured this would be his reaction to his first encounter with that. I love sensitive Rorschach, what can I say?_

---

The adrenaline was still pumping Nite Owl's heart after tying up a drug dealer to a light post as he climbed a drain pipe up the roof of a building. Archimedes waited at the top, the dull electronic humming growing louder as he got closer. Rorschach was not far behind, and Dan thought vaguely that he shouldn't have gone ahead of him; the smaller man was a lot more cat-footed than Dan was and would have been up there by now if Dan wasn't slowing him down.

Then he heard the a wisp of fluttering and a tap on the ground. He looked down, scowling as Rorschach's figure went further into the alley.

"Rorschach?" he called out, then cursed slightly, slowly shimmying back down again. Once it was safe for him to jump down without twisting an ankle on the landing, Dan ran to catch up to his partner. Rorschach was already digging through a dumpster, throwing boxes and bags and cans over his shoulder, so rapidly that Dan had to scowl yet again. "What the hell--"

Rorschach stepped back from the dumpster, body wracking as though he were electrocuted. Dan noticed his partner's shoulders rise and fall with his breaths. Then he heard a wail.

Dan shot toward the dumpster. He croaked, "Oh, god." He lifted the naked baby out of the plastic bag that Rorschach had already untied, almost having a heart attack when the baby's head limped backwards in his hands. Holding it by the back and head, he stared at it for a moment, then looked back at his partner, who still had not moved. Rorschach was shaking. "Rorschach, how the hell did you know?"

"I heard it. Earlier when we were chasing the drug dealer," the last word came with a choke. He took a shuddering breath, "I had to look."

Dan shook his head, "Lucky thing you did." He looked down at the baby once more, nodding his head sheepishly. "It's a girl."

"Hurm," Rorschach was hovering by him in an instant, still shaking. His was head bent down, looking at the child as it squirmed in Dan's grasp, her eyes squinted shut. Dan was watching the baby as well, still in a state of shock, until he heard Rorschach rustling with his coat. Rorschach lifted the coat to Dan's face, growling a bit when Dan simply stared, wide eyed. "Cover it."

Dan blinked, "Right." He bundled the baby up in the coat and held it to his chest, the excess of the coat trailing down his arm. He sighed, "So what do we do?"

He heard Rorschach hiss from under his mask, "Find mother, get her to confess..." he was shaking again, leather gloves squeaking as he clenched his fist, "Bring her to justice..."

"Rorschach--that'll probably be a lot harder to do than you think." But Rorschach was already facing away from Dan in a different direction. Dan followed his gaze up to the building they stood next to.

"Dumpster must belong to this apartment complex." Rorschach brushed passed Dan, "She could live here."

"And what're you going to do? Storm the building? It's the middle of the night!" But Rorschach was already making his way out of the alleyway. Dan followed, huffing as he realized he couldn't run to catch up with the bundle in his arms. He had to settle for a fast walk, cursing when he saw his partner's figure disappear in front of the building. He cringed when he heard the door being smashed open.

Dan's gut turned ice cold as he heard Rorschach from the stoop, "Baby found in dumpster. Belong to anyone?!" He had never heard Rorschach raise his voice outside of grunts within battle. It didn't lose its grain and only gained in its ferocity. Dan hurried inside the apartment complex's lobby, just barely catching a glimpse of Rorschach shooting down a hallway of doors. He followed him, taken aback as people stared from their cracked doors. He went to Rorschach who stood at the foot of the hallway, breathing harshly.

Dan cleared his throat and adjusted his hold on the baby, who appeared be sleeping, "Uh, sorry, folks--"

"Baby found in dumpster," Rorschach's voice cut through Dan's. Rorschach pointed at the bundle in question. "Where's the mother?!"

When none of the petrified tenants made a move, Rorschach started towards one woman. Dan followed him, holding him by the shoulder, "Rorschach, don't--"

"Are you the mother?!" Rorschach snatched the woman's wrists and pulled her out into the hallway, screaming as she fell to the ground. "Is this baby yours?! Think you can just abandon children in dumpster?!"

"No! Please, oh god..." the woman sobbed, trying to wrench her hand away from Rorschach's grip.

"For christ's sake, Rorschach! Let go of her!" Dan tried to pull his partner away, but was too handicapped with the bundle, "Shit, man, let's just get out of here--we're not going to find out anything this way."

Rorschach ignored him, twisting the woman's wrist, "Obviously too old for young child. Have whore daughter?!"

"RORSCHACH! God damn it," Dan this time tried to push Rorschach away from the woman with his body, still unsuccessful as Rorschach merely repositioned himself away from Dan. "What's this going to do, huh?!"

Rorschach snapped his head to look up, "A child left to die in dumpster--treated like common trash. Mother should be made to know what it feels like to be treated like _trash." _He emphasized the point by squeezing the woman's wrist hard enough that she emitted a yowl of pain.

Dan fumbled with his words for a moment, "Fine! But what does that do _for the situation?"_ Rorschach simply stared for a moment, all movements paused. Dan almost growled himself, "I'm standing here with a baby in my arms, god damn it! It's cold, it's hungry--who the hell knows how long it was out there!" The baby began to cry, more than likely because of Dan's raised voice.

Rorschach looked down at the infant. Then he let go of the woman, who proceeded to scamper back into the safety of her apartment.

Dan sighed tiredly. Rorschach turned his body to face Dan, still fixated on the miserable infant. "Have to take her somewhere."

"How about we get out of here first?" Dan said irritably, trying to soothe the baby by bouncing it in his arm. It didn't work.

"You can't climb the building with the child. Can get to the roof from the inside." Rorschach began to walk towards a flight of stairs at the end of the hallway. Dan followed, beginning to cringe at the loud wailing.

Up three flights of stairs and to the roof, the child had not ceased its crying, instead going into piercing screams. Rorschach even flinched at one particular screech.

"Come on, kid, give me a break..." Dan frowned at the baby's pink, squinting face. Rorschach walked to stand by Dan, looking down at the bundle. Dan wiggled a finger at the baby, and a little hand immediately grasped it, still wailing. As Dan bounced the baby again, the baby popped his finger into her mouth and suckled, her sobbing slowly ebbing into hiccups and finally silence.

Dan and Rorschach took a simultaneous breath.

"Very loud." Rorschach said, still staring.

"You can say that again," Dan raised his eyebrows and began walking to the owlship, noticing Rorschach taking particular care to keep in step with him, gaze still directed at the baby. Not able to help himself, he smiled at his companion, who immediately gave what Dan interpreted as a scowl and looked away. Dan wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh or sigh at that.

They entered the Archimedes, at which point Dan ran into a problem. He watched Rorschach take his seat (now almost trying too hard to avoid looking at the baby).

"Uh, Rorschach?" When his partner looked up, he lifted the bundle a bit, "I sort of have to fly the ship now... would you mind?" He approached behind the seat before he received an answer, seeing Rorschach stiffen his posture as he neared. He paused his movements for a moment, clearing his throat, "It won't be that long... just until we can get to an hospital--"

"Adoption agency."

Dan blinked, "What?"

"You're not supposed to abandon your children at the hospital--it wastes resources. They need to be taken to an agency to get adopted." He paused for a moment. "I'll hold her." Rorschach stood, holding out his hands. Dan tried very hard not to smile this time, imagining some look of determination in the swirl of inkblots.

He began to transfer the child, not able to hold back a "Careful..." when Rorschach wasn't cautious enough of holding the baby by the head. Rorschach held the baby properly, albeit unnaturally, keeping it away from his body, holding the head with one hand and it's back with the other. Dan watched as Rorschach simply stared at the baby, whose face began to twist up into a look of misery once more, letting out a small keening noise. Hesitantly, Rorschach shifted the baby to his arm and brought a gloved finger to the baby's mouth. Dan smiled.

"Something funny, Daniel?" Rorschach's head snapped up.

"N- no," Dan laughed anyway, quickly going into his seat in order to hide his face from the other man, "You're doing fine."

"Doubt I would?"

Dan snorted, trying hard to resist the smile that kept creeping up into his features. "No, man, not at all."

"Hurm." Rorschach sat back down, his face once again concentrated on the bundle in front of him.

In-between piloting the Archie, Dan kept glancing at his partner and the baby. If Rorschach had treated the child with a hint of naturalness then it may have become less of a piece of fascination for Dan--but as it was, Rorschach stared at the baby with as much awe and helplessness as if it were a foreign life-form.

Rorschach snapped his head to look at Dan, "Still think something's funny?"

Dan bit his lip, but a laugh bubbled out of him anyway, "No, man--why do you think that?"

"Keep smiling and looking at me funny." Rorschach shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Dan stifled another chuckle.

"It's not funny, it's just..." Dan smiled again, more sheepishly when Rorschach continued to glare daggers at him through his mask. "Well, I'm just not used to seeing you so... tender."

Rorschach bristled and Dan automatically knew he had not made the right word-choice. Rorschach put the baby down on his lap, still holding its head and letting it suckle on his gloved finger, but avoiding further contact otherwise.

Dan tried to wipe the smile on his face. "Come on, it's nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm not ashamed," Rorschach snapped. He shifted the bundle a little closer.

Dan breathed in deeply, hoping it would prevent anymore giggles and smiles from breaking through. He hovered the owlship above the adoption agency, leaning back in his seat to think.

"I don't think anyone would be in there at this hour. Should we just leave her at the front door--?"

"No," Rorschach said automatically. "We're not part of a soupy melodrama, Daniel. It's a cold night and she would be out there for hours."

Dan nodded, sighing a bit, "Right. We'll have to wait, then. It's just that it could be hours..."

"Whatever's necessary." Rorschach looked at Dan, the child now firmly back in his arms.

Dan looked at the baby and Rorschach back and forth for a second, then nodded, starting up Archimedes again with resolution. "I'll take diaper duty if you feed her."

He noticed Rorschach bristle once more and smirked.

---

While the clerk working at the convenience store certainly gave them strange looks when they bought diapers, baby formula and bottles, he made no comment while bagging up their items when Rorschach sent him an icy glare. The mask sometimes did little to obscure Rorschach's true face.

Dan watched Rorschach's lonely trench coat spin in the washing machine. He had to really stifle himself when Rorschach wordlessly handed him the soiled coat. He could only wonder if this was the first wash the dirty trench had ever received.

Dan hadn't changed out of his own suit quite yet, though he desperately wanted to after such a long night. It just didn't feel right with Rorschach still with him, even if morning had already dawned--the most he did was take off his cowl and goggles. They were currently in the kitchen, Rorschach feeding the baby. Dan tried hard not to think of how domestic it all felt.

"She's tiny."

Dan blinked, looking behind him. He really had trouble keeping his smiles to himself that night. "Yeah. Reminds me of my niece when she was a baby." He searched for a reaction in his partner's mask, but only received a grunt.

The same bizarre fascination pulled Dan back to staring at Rorschach and the baby, who was now wrapped around one of Dan's spare blankets. While Rorschach's arm holding the baby was steady, almost stiff and tense, the hand holding the bottle shook, forcing its gentleness on the infant. One gloved finger, disproportionately large to the infant's own digits, discreetly grazed over the dimpled hand of the child before retracting back.

Dan's voice had become irredeemably dry for a split second. He cleared his throat, "I think the adoption agency should be open by now."

Rorschach shot up from his seat, causing Dan to jump slightly. "Can come back for coat later," he brushed passed Dan, looking back for a moment, "Coming?"

Dan shook himself out of a stupor he had not realized he was in, "Yeah, sure."

Dan felt slightly uncomfortable flying Archimedes in the daylight, but tried to stay in the clouds until they reached their location--from there it was unavoidable that they would be spotted. They still tried to keep a low profile as they landed on a roof near the adoption agency. As they approached the building on foot, Rorschach looked over at Dan, "Take her."

Dan did a double take, blinking rapidly as he took the infant--who was now comfortably asleep--from Rorschach. He smirked, "Thought you wanted her all to yourself."

Rorschach huffed, turning sharply away from Dan. "Just doing my job."

Dan smiled fully, "Okay, Rorschach."

Another huff, but nothing said afterwards.

The lady who greeted them at the front desk wanted to call the press--"CRIME FIGHTING DUO SAVE INFANT FROM DUMPSTER." Rorschach immediately declined the idea, citing that he had better things to do than pose for the press, and walked off. Dan took a moment to pet the infant's bald head before following after.

"Still have to find mother," Rorschach said as they rejoined in an alleyway, walking side by side.

Dan sighed haggardly, "Are you still on about that?"

Rorschach growled, "It's against the law to abandon your baby in a dumpster. Child neglect and abandonment."

Dan braced himself for an argument, "Look, I'm not saying that what she did was a good thing, but--"

"Hurm, figures. No discernible difference from abortion--both thinking of irresponsible whores before thinking of innocent lives."

"Don't put words in my mouth. That is _not_ what I was saying," Dan stepped in front of Rorschach, "I'm saying that for one, it's going to be really hard to find the mother--not even the police can follow up on cases like this."

"That's why the city has us, Daniel. We're better than police." Rorschach said, beginning to brush pass him.

Dan stepped in front of him again, "We're talking about something a lot harder to trace than a drug deal or a prostitution ring, here. That kid's mom may not have even been in that apartment building at all!"

Rorschach stood stock still, and Dan realized with a start that it was his usual stance before lashing out in battle--a coiled up snake waiting to strike. "You don't want to try? You don't think that child deserves justice?!"

"That's what I wanted to say, Rorschach," Dan put a hand on Rorschach's shoulder but it was wrenched away and he retracted his hand. "That child got its justice today. It got a second chance at life. Don't you think that's enough?" When Rorschach still had not relaxed, but had also not moved or strayed his gaze away from Dan, he continued, "I know you don't feel the same, but... we don't know what the situation was with the mother. She could be underage, too poor to take care of the kid--she could be dead!"

"Your liberal sympathies don't move me, Daniel."

Dan gritted his teeth, "Rorschach, that's still not the point. Tell me what you'll accomplish by finding the mother and bringing her to justice. Why isn't the fact that we saved a life enough for you?"

Rorschach stepped up to Dan. Although the other man was quite a bit shorter than himself, Dan was taken aback. "If you're satisfied with seeing scum overtake the city, Daniel, that's fine. I'll take it on by myself."

"Rorschach," Dan tried to make himself appear taller, "Be reasonable."

"The only way the filth will be wiped from this city is through justice. How many exceptions will you make, Daniel? Let one whore get away and the rest will follow."

Daniel shook for a moment, fire piercing his lungs. "Fine then!" He swept away from Rorschach, "Go! Just do whatever the fuck you want."

Rorschach left down the alleyway and Daniel climbed up the building to Archimedes. Daniel looked back at Rorschach; the other man did not look back at all.

---

That night, Dan tried not to wait around for his partner. Yet it was hard not to be reminded of his absence as he retrieved the now clean coat from the dryer. He found himself putting his own suit on more slowly, giving Archie a routine check-up, and then in desperation he cleaned the owlship's already luminous eyes. He heard familiar taps echo down the tunnel entrance.

Rorschach retrieved his coat on the railing where Dan had hung it, adjusting it crisply and almost taking a moment to admire its rejuvenation. Dan stepped down from the Archimedes, keeping his distance from Rorschach.

Rorschach took Dan by surprise by speaking first. "Figured you would be out on patrol by now."

Dan ignored the observation, hoping Rorschach could figure out exactly why that was on his own. "Did you have any luck?"

Rorschach turned to him, beginning to walk towards him and the Archimedes, "Went back to the apartment complex. People were scared; more willing to answer questions that way, luckily. Each woman there claimed to not be the mother. Checked inside apartments to make sure." Dan cringed at the thought while Rorschach went on, "Searched area. Same story. No one had seen anyone abandon a baby in a dumpster."

Dan nodded, feeling no sense of victory from being right. He sighed, "Um... I was going to... you know, check up on her. See where she ended up--"

"Shouldn't get attached," Rorschach cut through.

Dan deflated, "Yeah, you're right." He clapped a hand on Rorschach's shoulder, smiling when the other didn't shrug away from the touch. He kept it there for a moment before turning away, walking to Archimedes, "I'll just trust that she'll be okay."

He saw Rorschach nod from the corner of his eye, "Keep your faith. It's all we have."

Dan let a smile creep through his features, and for a moment imagined that Rorschach's black inkblots formed its own smile as well.


End file.
